Possibilities: Self-esteem
by M0HAX
Summary: What happens, when Dr. Drakken obtains the secret information from the Global Justice archives? How will it affect the lives of Kim and Ron? And what are the possibilities?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's notes: **My dialogues look weak, please give me some advises on what could I do to strengthen them. Also I got a bit too much into describing later on in the story and I am sorry about that. Minor dramatic moments to be expected.

**Disclaimer:** all the characters belong to Disney, no commercial usage intended. The name of the university is used purely as a pun and not as an advertisement.

We all know how the official story ended: Ron was able to utilize his strength properly, defeating the greatest threat humanity has ever faced; he an Kim graduated, both still in love with each other; similar relationship was hinted between Shego and Drakken. And they lived happily ever after, end of story. Not. Now we are not bound to the single line of action, the story now lives by itself expanding into limitless possibilities!

Let us explore one of them...

**Possibilities: Self-esteem**

"Shego! I've finally done it!" Dr. Drakken's loud yell made Shego flinch, as she was starting to nod off hearing nothing but the constant silent murmur from the Drakken's side for the past few hours.

"So you finally managed to file all the tax papers?" she replied with a frown.

"What? No, though remind me to do that later,"he answered nervously. His expression changed to that of a great excitement. "No! I've finally found Kim Possible's greatest strength! While looking for the parts of my new Nanoquazimultiinjector Gun on eBay I stumbled upon some old reports from Global Justice being on sale. And guess what I found?" Shego kept looking at him in silence, not uttering a single word. "Shego, this is where you say 'What?' " said supervillain with irritation.

"What?" followed a bored reply.

"Kim Possible's greatest strength is him!" exclaimed Dr. Drakken as he pointed at the screen where the "Ron factor" report was displayed. "According to this super secret information, it is thanks to him, that Kim Possible was always able to successfully thwart my genius plans."

She sighed. "Or they weren't as genius as you think. Didn't we regard him as her weakness before?"

"Shego, secret documents from eBay can't lie!" replied Drakken with the utmost assurance.

"Well there does seem to be some truth in this information – after all no matter how you look at it, it was him, who defeated the Warhok and Warmonga. And he was better than you in the role of a villain as well. So what's the great plan?"

"Take him out of course."

"Nuh-uh. Not gonna happen. You didn't see what this boy can do. I am not fighting him."

If Drakken didn't know Shego better, he'd say that the expression on her face was almost scared. He raised his eyebrow in amazement, but then continued. "Well, that's the beauty of my plan, Shego! We won't have to fight him, instead we will make him feel so useless and bad, that he will decide to leave Kim Possible on his own." And the anti-hero burst out in a maniacal laughter.

* * *

Two months later in a different place:

"Hiiiyah! Kyah! Ayayayah! Hnnnnnnnnghyaaah!" Ron's battle yells echoed through his house late at night. "Monkey Power Punch! Monkey Power Kick! Monkey Power... thump!" Ron found himself laying face flat on the floor after attempting to do a flip. "Rufus, I just can't do it. It doesn't come out at all. I don't even remember how I did it before to begin with." He let out a long audible sigh. "Wasn't I supposed to learn how to control my Mystical Monkey Power after that last fight?"  
Rufus squeaked with a pity to show his affection towards his friend.

Meanwhile Ron continued: "I mean wasn't I all like 'kapoom, flip, kick, punch, two-handed air punch, megathrow,' floating and all that stuff? Why can't I pull any of this now?"

Rufus shrugged and uttered a high-pitched "Dunno."

"Maybe it was just a one time thing, and I won't be able to pull something like this again without Sensei's help? Maybe..." Ron kept muttering to himself, looking obviously down.

Rufus emitted a squeaky sigh, remembering that this same situation kept on going for the past two months every time Kim had to leave Ron's side.

"Ron, dear, we are back from the movies." Heard Ron his mother's voice from the front door.

"Yuck, who would go and watch such an old and boring movie," he thought to himself. "And even take a little kid with them, when she should be long sleeping."

"It looks like there is some mail for you from a college."

That phrase made Ron's heart jump and start racing faster – after all Kim was already accepted in several very prestigious colleges, while he was left to his devices in that matter. He rushed down to take a look at the letter as quick as he could. Tearing the letter open, he quickly skimmed through it till his eyes met the oh so desired line: "your application has been accepted". The very same moment the loud cry: "Booyah" escaped his lungs. As it was too late to wake Kim up, he decided to tell her the news on the morning of the very next day.

* * *

"Kimmie, wake up, dear, and come down. It looks like Ron has some great news he wants to tell you." said Dr. Ann Possible knocking on the Kim's door early in the morning.

Only five minutes later Kim was already downstairs in her summer attire.

"So, Ron, whats the big news?" she asked with an obvious interest.

"Kim! I got accepted to the same university as you did! To the MIT!" Ron's voice was overflowing with excitement.

Rufus looked out of Ron's pocket and started clapping his paws acknowledging the feat.

Suddenly Ron felt that everyone's surprised and incredulous gazes were pointed at him. Even twins synchronously raised their eyebrows.

"Errrm... Ron, I don't know how to say it, but, dear, are you entirely sure about that?" Kim said carefully as she tried her best to not make her boyfriend upset. "Not everyone could even think of getting in there."

"Well, that's me, the Great Star of Middleton High football team, we are talking about!" said Ron proudly. "Of course Middleton Institute of Technology would crave me to join their team."

"Aha-aha," added Rufus to the statement.

"But Ron, there is no such college in the Middleton," said Mr. Possible gazing on the Ron upon his newspaper. "The only one there is, is MIST, from which I graduated. And it is Middleton Institute of Science and Technology."

"Look Mr. Possible, here it is, in the booklet. It was built two months ago by the rich benefactor," Ron replied while showing the colorful book with huge letter MIT across it. "And also, didn't Kim get accepted there as well?"

"Oh Ron, I hate to break it to you dear, but Kimmie got into a different MIT, the very different one," Mrs. Possible said, trying to make it sound as soothing as possible. However it still looked like the news crushed Ron completely – his expression went from ecstatic to morbid. Rufus almost fell out of the pocket with the emotion of distrust painting his little face.

Looking at her boyfriend, Kim didn't have the heart to put the final nail in the coffin and tell him that exactly the same situation has already happened before, when Dr. Drakken was scheming one of his evil plans under the disguise of the university.

Instead she sighed to her thoughts and said with a cheerful voice: "Well Ron, lets take a look at your new school, I think it may be not bad at all."

Ron barely nodded in agreement and let out a long sad sigh.

"Mom, Dad, we'll go take look at Ron's new university, I'll be back home later," noted her parents Kim as she walked Ron to the door.

* * *

"Kimmie, be careful and come back before night," called her father towards the already closing door.

"Come on, Ron, say something. You've been silent all this time," said Kim as she stopped her Sloth at another traffic light. "I know, you didn't expect that those would be different universities, but I am sure you will be fine there."

"But Kim, I wanted to be there with you." Ron let out another sigh.

"Ron, you know I love you," the girl replied, planting a kiss on her boyfriends cheek as she continued driving. "And this fact won't change no matter how much distance there will be between us. After all, we could see each other every weekend and every time we go on missions."

Kim kept trying to reassure him as much as she could, finally making Ron a bit more cheerful, right as they arrived to the supposed location of the Middleton Institute of Technology so far on the outskirts of the city, that the city itself could not be seen anymore.

What they saw exceeded all their expectations.

Immerse parking lots were the first thing any visitor noted. Spanning across what seemed like the millions of square feet they provided enough space for the thousands of cars. Wisely located around the territory of campus, those lots seemed to provide quick and easy access for the car owners to every building. Paved roads connected every location on campus to others in a smart and efficient way. Even specific sideways for the cyclists were designated. Beautiful trees and flowers were placed in the open areas, creating the atmosphere of a well-maintained park, further enhanced by the chimes of the birds singing and occasional bright flashes of squirrels running around. The buildings were made of what looked like marble and granite, standing tall and proud in their perfect mixture of warm and cold colors. Spectacular carvings were unfolding on their walls and statues were holding the portico roofs above every door. Magnificent bridges, which looked almost ethereal with their elegant balustrades, were connecting different floors between the buildings. The overall feeling of peace and tranquility engulfed the place, making every visitor stand in ave admiring the scenery in front of their eyes.

And to the great amazement of the pair, there weren't one or two people around. It looked as if people from the whole world came to study in this institute. Everywhere they could see groups of people led by the tour guides describing the place and the history of its creation.

"Ron, this... is... incredible!" Kim barely found any words to express her feelings, so astonished she was by what she saw. "We must get the tour around this place!"

Ron kept standing speechless, his mind completely blank, as his jaw kept sliding down.

"...n! ...oooon! ...eloo! ...on!" A strong kiss from his girlfriend returned Ron, who was in the seventh heaven, back to earth due to being much more pleasant. When they separated after a few sweet moments, Kim repeated again: "Ron, lets go get a tour around the place, since you were admitted here anyway."

Without a second thought her boyfriend agreed, and they followed the signs to the Admissions building, which looked more like some ancient European museum. The service inside was as fantastic as the place looked. Despite numerous people being in there, they didn't have to wait at all before the personal assistant came to help them. Learning, that Ron was already admitted, he quickly helped the guy with his paperwork and dispatched a guide to give him and his girlfriend an all around tour.

First the teenagers learned, that the place was built using the newest technologies in the synthesis of the matter, allowing to make it so beautiful in such a short time. Virtually everything there, excluding the living things, was created almost overnight following the design that was made by the sponsor's team.

"Sorry to interrupt, but who sponsored this construction? After all, it doesn't look like it would be profitable to make such a large and beautiful university in an average city like ours," asked Kim with the intentions of finding whether it actually was one of the Dr. Drakken's twisted plans.

The guide smiled and even chuckled a bit. "That is the question that almost every visitor asks. After all I was amazed myself when I heard about it the first time. Let me tell you about this, while we walk to our first destination. According to our dear sponsor Mr. Diego, he had a dream of building something like this for many decades, however he had no means to do so even with his vast budget. And thus the designs he made through the years of hard work kept collecting dust. However just recently he got his hands on the information that in the Middleton Space Center a way to create matter with almost no losses was invented. After prolonged and tiring discussions, the Space Center and the Government agreed to provide him with the device for one night, in which he managed to raise all those beautiful buildings in one night. By the way we have arrived to our first destination: this is the statue of Mr. Diego Sivil"

The statue pictured him with the amazing detail as old, but not yet withered with years. He stood on the pedestal tall and straight, legs on the shoulder length, with his hands placed on the cane standing right in front of him. He wore the formal costume and the cape, making him emanate the feeling of the nobility. Another remarkable trait of his were the hair and the beard which reached his hips in length and yet again despite his age looked very thick and quite cherished.

Interestingly enough, Kim felt, that it wasn't the first time she saw that man, even though the girl was completely confident it was her first time hearing such a name.

* * *

I am very tired at the moment, as it appears its much harder to write fanfiction than i thought. So this story is to be continued after this minor cliffhanger. Supposedly the whole thing will be at least 4 times the size of this part.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's notes:** Several stereotypes will be used in this chapter. No offense meant.

**Disclaimer:** all the characters belong to Disney, no commercial usage intended. The name of the university is used purely as a pun and not as an advertisement.

**Thanks to: **CajunBear73

**Possibilities: Self-esteem**

"Alright guys, time to move on to our next destination," beckoned the guide as he started walking again. "Now, as we travel to the Library let me continue the story. The reason why our sponsor managed to convince the Government and the Space Center to give him the device was..."

Lost in her thoughts Kim stopped listening to the guide's endless chattering. She was absolutely positive, that the figure of the sponsor was familiar to her. She took out her kimmunicator.

"Wade!"  
"Whats up Kim? Hows Ron's new university?"

"To tell the truth, its surprisingly good. Up to the point of being incredible. However there is something suspicious about the way it appeared. Could you run a check on its sponsor Mr. Diego Sivil?"

"Okay, KP, will be done in a second." Wade started mashing the buttons on his keyboard with the tremendous speed. "Uh, Kim... It may take a bit more time. Looks like there is no information about him in the open. I will contact you as soon as I get something," said the computer guy and disconnected.

By the time the talk ended, the trio arrived to the Library. The impressive collection of books that was stored inside would make even the Library of Congress jealous. It even contained some of the books that existed only in a single print and were being held in various museums throughout the world. As the tour continued, it went through many places that were equally or even more amazing. The computer facilities were equipped with multiple supercomputers and the state of art towers. Every lab and classroom had special interactive screens installed on both the teachers' and the students' sides. The list of teaching professors included world famous names in every subject. The gym and sports facilities were so perfect, that they could be used to hold Olympic Games that very moment.

"Kim, just look at all of this", said Ron excitedly. "I can't believe I got here, that's just... Booyah!"

"Ron, I am very happy for you, but..." Kim hesitated for the moment before continuing: "Doesn't this place look too perfect? I mean it is so dazzling, we may miss something behind the light."

"Oh, come on, KP. You are just jealous," teased her Ron with a smirk.

Somewhere deep within girl's heart a little bit of jealousy was of course present: after all, Ron did nothing to get into such a university; however she wouldn't ever confess even to herself that such thoughts belonged to her and thus replied with a frown: "Ron, I am just trying to be careful. To begin with..." Kim stopped talking, as there was no one to talk to – Ron had already left, following the guide to the dorms. With the facepalm she followed.

Meanwhile guide was explaining the specifics about the dorms, mesmerizing the boy so much, that he wouldn't even notice that the dorms looked way differently from everything else. Made out of red bricks, cubical in form and with lots of small windows – they looked more like a prison barracks than a decent dorms.

"So, as you can see – here are the dorms," pointed the guide at the menacing buildings. "They were designed with the bare minimum of comfort, so that the students who live here dedicate all their time to studying instead of slacking off. Lets take a closer look," with these words the man opened the door and stepped inside.

The duo followed him to one of the rooms. It was designed to hold five people at once. Each student had a bad, a table, a chair and a tall drawer for clothes. Beds were raised to the second level, table and chair located underneath. Drawers stood right next to the bed being high enough to be used as a bed table. There was some free space in the middle, but even with it the overall feeling was that of a small and cramped room.

"We promote team spirit in our students, so the rooms vary from 2 to 5 man rooms. And knowing that you, Ron Stoppable, is a football player we of course provided you with the largest room. In fact – this will be your room," finished the guide with the smile.

To say that Ron was dumbfounded by those words would be an understatement. The idea of living with 4 other unknown people in the same room after being by himself in his own room for the past 18 years put the boy in a state of shock. His mind got flooded by the images of all the times he was bullied, but now four times more and without a chance to escape. For a short while his conscience was gone.

He started recovering only on the way back to the admissions building, slowly regaining his senses and finally walking not like a mindless robot.

"Well, guys the tour is finished, any questions?" asked the ever-cheerful guide.  
"When do I have to move in?" Ron's sorrow was leaking through his words.

"The official move in date is on the 4th of September. However as you were scouted, you already are our football team member, thus you have to move in as soon as possible to participate in team practice. This should have been written in your letter."

Ron nervously smirked and pulled on the collar of his shirt. He never read past the words "your application has been accepted".

"I must remind you, that as you move in a month earlier than others, you should not take their space in your room."

At the thought of being already familiar with campus and having an advantage over the newcomers Ron's spirits rose.

"Tomorrow I am moving in!", he proclaimed.

And tomorrow, with Kim's help, he moved in.

* * *

"See, Shego, it is working! The first part of my plan is working!" Dr. Drakken was so excited, he was ready to start dancing on the spot.

"So far he only moved in. I seriously doubt there is anyone in the world, who wouldn't want to move in here," said Shego with the voice full of skepticism. "I still can't believe that we had to use absolutely every penny we could find. Our credit is so below the floor that it should be reaching the center of the earth by now. If we are ever found by the credit unions we will not see the light of the day in this life."

"Shego, I am a supervillain! I do not pay credits!"

"Whatever, all of them are on your name anyways. That aside – why do the dorms look so different from the rest of the campus?"

"Ugh... I forgot to make them with the matter synthesizer and ran out of money before I could build them like the rest."

Shego facepalmed.

* * *

The month went by really fast. Ron took part in his team practices and, while it was significantly harder to do the drills than in high school, he soon was acknowledged by the members of the team. He an Kim spent a lot of time together enjoying the first peaceful summer the had. There were absolutely no missions throughout the whole time, as if all the bad guys finally decided to put a stop to their actions.

At the end of the month the pair had a very touching parting as Kim was departing to her university, and finally Ron was alone.

But not for a long time, as the next day his roommates moved in. The first time Ron saw them, both he and Rufus let out a sigh of relief. Three short and thin Chinese guys wearing glasses, with no sign of muscles and a huge Russian guy, who clearly had troubles assimilating, thus staying quiet. Chinese guys on the contrary were constantly chatting. A lot. In their own language. When Ron asked them to talk in English they agreed and nothing changed. Steady C student Ron could not understand anything they said at all, as they were constantly talking only about studying. At that point however, the Russian guys joined in the conversation and quickly was accepted by them.

Ron felt stressed, so he decided to call Kim's kimmunicator and check how she was doing. After a few seconds Kim's face appeared on the screen.

"Hey KP, how is it going on your end?" asked Ron, not able to do anything but smile upon seeing his girlfriend's face.

"Oh Ron, it is awesome. My roommate is a 3rd year, so she already showed me around. And I met Monique – she got into BU, so we practically live in the same place. It is a lot of fun. And what about you, how are your new roommates?"

"Well, I think they are okay", replied Ron as he watched the Russian guy carrying in a whiteboard through the door. "I can show them to you," and he pointed the camera towards his roommates. The Russian guy was drawing something on the board and talking:"... so as our quantum physics teacher Vladimir Borisovich said: 'Euler's formula is easy to understand through the picture' and as you can see, that really makes sense because...", Chinese guys started nodding and one of them went to the board and drew something himself, which resulted into a heated argument.

"So now you see it yourself", said Ron as he turned the device back. "They are kinda OK, but I do not get what they say."

"Poor Ron, don't worry, I am with you, at least morally." Kim blew an air kiss towards Ron. "Sorry I gotta run: my club meeting starts." And the redhead disconnected.

"What club?" asked Ron the dark screen by inertia. Of course no reply followed and with a deep sigh he started to get ready for practice.

* * *

Another month passed. Ron was starting to get used to his new life.

He avoided his room as he couldn't stand the never-ending smart talk of his roommates, who, in his opinion, could already have made a few scientific breakthroughs. He didn't make new friends as well. A lot of students were international, thus they quickly formed communes, which of course interacted with others, but on such a high levels, that Ron still wasn't able to make out even half of what they were talking about. He wasn't able to communicate with sports guys, as he didn't visit gym and had no idea about any body improvement programs. He was an average kid, and there were no other average kids in that school. Even his teammates couldn't be considered friends, as they supported him only while on the field. Because of that Ron spent most of his time in Bueno Nacho, eating, playing with Rufus or doing homework. Almost every day he called Kim, however because of her busy schedule, they could rarely talk longer than a minute or two.

His classes were not interesting for him as well. Because of their high level, Ron had to give it his all, just to stay in the C range. And that was only the first, introductory, month of the semester.

However, despite all of those factors, Ron wasn't feeling very down. After all, the great event he was waiting for was coming. His first college level game against the university of Upperton.

And so the great day had come.

* * *

**Afterword: **Sorry for the delay, I planned to post on Friday, but I got called to work, then was my brothers holiday, spending Sunday with family. Finally today I can post. I am tired after work, so there might have been some mistakes, please point on the harsh ones, so I can fix them for future readers.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's notes:** There actually is a Middleton Institute of Technology in the cartoon. It was mentioned only once in Ep. 44 at 12:28, so I forgot about it.

**Disclaimer:** all the characters belong to Disney, no commercial usage intended. The name of the university is used purely as a pun and not as an advertisement.

**Thanks to: **CajunBear73

**Possibilities: Self-esteem**

"Welcome everyone to the first game of the season. Today on the field we will see two college teams clashing against each other. From the university of Upperton come the proud and strong Angry Hedgehogs. And from the newly established Middleton Institute of Technology, in their home game, come the Blue Devils," the announcer's voice boomed through the field. However his voice got easily overpowered as the crowd broke out in cheers and applause at the sight of the teams running out. In the first row, on the premium seats reserved for family members and VIPs only, the Stoppable and Possible families sat. Even Kim was able to make it to her boyfriend's first game despite her tight schedule. Her father made a large robotic banner projecting the words "Go, RON!" in the sky above the stadium.

"Ok, Ron, you can do it!" Ron gulped as he said that to himself. Nervously looking at the insanely large words in the sky he gulped again and started shaking a bit. "No pressure Ron, come on. Show the unstoppable power of the Stoppable."

"And now, the word goes to our dear sponsor Mr. Diego Sivil!" Just as the announcer ended his excited presentation the cloud of white smoke appeared in the middle of the field. As it dissipated a tall broad-shouldered figure started appearing. A mere moments later everyone on the stadium was able to witness the live appearance of the guy, who built the school. In life he looked even more impressive than in stone. Despite his age, his hair was onyx black, without a single strand of gray. Together with the pearl white shirt, emerald green necktie and dark gray costume he made quite a sight. He didn't have the cape on, like the statue did, however it made him look even better as everyone could see his perfect stature.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our first game on the fields of Middleton Institute of Technology. Today's game will signalize the beginning of a new age for the world... of football! So let us witness the game worthy of the new age." And with the bright flash of light he disappeared.

"As they say: 'Brevity is the soul of wit', and our sponsor is the living proof of that saying," commented the announcer as everyone got back at least some ability to see. "Now let our game commence!"

And so the game started. Despite his nervousness, Ron was at his best that game. The very first quarter he alone scored four touchdowns. However during the second one, almost every single person from the Hedgehogs put their best at pinning him down, effectively bringing the score back to the equality due to the small but crucial mistakes Devils made in their defense. After the first half, both teams tied at the 28 points each. The announcer kept going on about how the level of the game was already in the NFL league. The crowd was psyched, yelling their teams' chants.

"Shego, how can this be?" anger was disfiguring Dr. Drakken's face as he uttered those words. "I managed to put all of the professional football players from other countries into the Hedgehogs team! And they still can't even manage to win? This is preposterous!" The blue-skinned man turned away from the field and commanded "Bring my Directional Mutiliator."

In a few seconds a thin end of the device appeared right above the announcer's cabin and pointed towards the field.

The third quarter started, and the teams were quite even in their efforts to put the ball into the goal. Both Devils and Hedgehogs struggled to make a run, but as the efforts were equal on both sides, even Ron's running techniques couldn't tip the scales. Same thing was happening in the fourth quarter as well, crowd admiring in awe the epic saves and breakthroughs that both team were attempting. Just a minute before the end of the fourth quarter, the Devils called for a timeout.

"Ronald, you are our ace," whispered the coach into Ron's ear. "In this last minute, I want you to run, like you never did before! Be like a wind, avoid everyone on your way and score us a touchdown, make us proud!"

Ron understood the importance of the mission given to him. And as soon as he got the ball he started running as if his life was on the line. He ran to the side of the field, avoided two tackles and barely evaded the third.

"Now Shego – fire!" The green finger pressed the button and an almost invisible beam hit Ron's head.

The running back spun a few times, lost his orientation for a bit, slammed into the enemy's quarterback, but quickly regained his balance and kept running.

Ron felt, that he must run even faster. He understood that something happened to him, but he had to win the game no matter what. Images started blurring in his eyes, he avoided the players by the hair's breadth. He felt as if the amount of people, who tried to tackle him doubled. Mustering all the power he had, the boy made his last leap and finally landed in the touchdown zone.

Silence covered the stadium. People could not believe what they just saw. Many were frozen in disbelief at the event that just took place. How could the boy do it?

The announcer started yelling in the microphone: "Is this possible? Please tell me I am sleeping, because this just isn't possible! I am going crazy! Ron Stoppable just scored a touchdown in HIS OWN TEAM's zone!" The announcer spent some time regaining his breath before continuing: "And thus, the team Blue Devils' running back brings the victory to the Angry Hedgehogs in the last seconds of the match!" Half of the crowed exploded with cheers and laughter, as the second half started booing and throwing stuff on the stadium. And accidental rock hit Dr. Possible's robotic banner, and the glowing words in the sky flickered and disappeared.

The green and blue faces wreathed in evil smiles as they watched the crestfallen Stoppable quickly leaving the field.

* * *

After that game everything changed for Ron. Of course after the game Kim and the families tried to comfort him, saying that such a thing could happen to anyone. But the boy knew, that it wasn't anyone, but him this happened to. His teammates no longer talked to him, at the school no one would even glance towards his side. And the worst part he got invited to a personal talk with a sponsor, aka the chairman of the university.

"Hello Ronald, take a sit." Mr. Diego Sivil rotated in his chair to face Ron. "I assume you know why I asked you to come here today?"

"Yes, Mr. Sivil, because I made our school loose with the humiliating defeat in a football game." Ron sighed heavily.

"Mr. Diego, not Mr. Sivil. Diego is the last name." the man gave a stern look towards the boy. "You made our school look bad in the most critical moment. Now we have to double our efforts to become world renown. I understand, that you have skills. However that is not enough. If you do not produce results, we don't need you." Mr. Diego slammed his fist on the table top. "Give that idea some thought, boy. You are dismissed." And as the door was closing he silently whispered: "For now."

The rest of the semester did not go well for poor Stoppable kid. His classes got much harder, and now he barely balanced on the edge between D and F. His performance in games and practices kept worsening as he was constantly afraid of running the wrong way, spending too much time looking around. Such actions quickly moved him into the rarely used team reserve. Ron's roommates now didn't notice his presence at all. They started to perform international conciliums and won a few research grants from top facilities in the world. He couldn't even connect to Kim, as she was constantly busy with schedules. Every time she planned to come to his game, some villain would commit a crime, ultimately taking her attention away. Plus the meetings with the chairman became a regular occurrence. In those meetings Ron kept hearing about how disappointing he is, and about how big the mistake was made, when giving him a scholarship.

Ron Stoppable started to succumb to the pressure. His obviously lacking results in the studies were greatly worse than his classmates' ones. He could not prove himself on the field anymore, receiving only the angry gazes from his teammates and the couch. The boy started to believe, that his girlfriend avoids him because of the mistake he made. That feeling was greatly enhanced by the sessions with the school's psychologist Dr. Nekkard, who kept telling him, that everyone must stay within their own social group, and not try to bite more than they can chew. According to him and his tests, Ron was from the lower average cast, and thus should associate only with such. The finishing touch for Stoppable's despair was the fact, that he couldn't use the MMP, no matter how much he tried to.

Crushed by his problems, Ron finally failed the semester exams, getting the total GPA of 0.61 as a result. After that he was called to the conclusive meeting with Mr. Diego.

"Ronald Stoppable, hereby you are being expelled from the Middleton Institute of Technology." The fateful words were finally said. "Normally, we would suspend you from your studies for a year, but you proved to be an extreme disgrace for this educational facility, and as such I decided, that you do not belong here. It was a mistake inviting you. You shall pack and leave by the end of the week."

Completely lost, with no words to say, Ron could only nod in silence and slowly leave the room.

He couldn't muster the courage to tell his family about what happened, so for the time being he was just quietly packing his belongings, which did not amount to much. While he was collecting his things the ronnunicator sound alerted him, that Kim was calling. He quickly grabbed the device, as he wasn't able to talk to his girlfriend for such a long time.

"Hey Ron. Guess who made it to the dean's list this semester?" Kim was brimming with excitement.

"I guess... you?" Ron was happy for his beloved, but there was something pressing on his heart. "You shall not bite, what you can't chew. You belong to the lower average cast." Dr. Nekkard's words echoed in his mind.

"Yeees! I got 4.0 GPA, managed to become the cheerleader captain, I am a president of the charity club. Me and Monique even managed to present the new line of clothes to the Club Banana's management, which they totally liked."

Ron could barely hold a smile on his face, so before he would ruin Kim's mood, he decided it would be better to hang up. "Sorry KP, I gotta run, have to... em... uh... do some real important stuff. Catch you later!" And with those words he disconnected. It was time to go home and tell the bad news to his parents.

"See Shego, that is working! I told you my plan was flawless!" Dr. Drakken rubbed his hands as he did his evil grin.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So can I finally stop doing this stupid act?" Shego was obviously annoyed at something.

"Not yet, my faithful sidekick. We need to give out one last performance." Dr. D pointed at the screen with the last details of his plan. "And after that, Kim Possible will finally lose!"

* * *

As the semester came to an end, Kim returned back home to meet with her family, and finally spend some quality time with her boyfriend. However it was not meant to happen.

"Hello Mrs. Stoppable, is Ron home?" Kim stood at the doors of Stoppable's house, planning to grab Ron and stop by the Bueno Nachos on the way to the movies. For some reason he did not answer the calls, so the redhead decided to come herself.

"I am sorry, Kimmie, but Ronald asked not to let anyone, especially you, in. He is sulking about him being expelled so much. Poor boy just lays there staring at the ceiling all the time. But please come back later, I am sure he will want to meet you."

Kim could only utter: "Ron was expelled?" as she saw the door closing. She stood there for some time dumbstruck by the news and the thought that Ron didn't want to see "especially" her, only to be surprised by the call from Wade.

"Hey, Wade, what's the sitch?" even the usual words sounded a bit shaky.

"Kim, there are some news on... wait is something wrong?"

"I am not sure, Ron doesn't want to see me, he wouldn't answer the calls as well."

"Then it may be something related to the things you asked me to look into."

"You mean that request about Mr. Diego half a year ago?"

"Well, yeah. There was nothing available on him in the open, and it took me a lot of time to trace his financial operations. But what I learned will not sound good."

"Hit me, Wade" Kim became quite motivated when she heard that the sponsor might have something to do with Ron's current condition.

"It looks like the MIT was built using the funding from Dr. Drakken's, Prof. Dementor's, Duff Killigan's and Senior Senior Senior's personal funds."

"They work together." Kim clenched her fist. Now it became obvious, why the timings of the crimes were so perfect in preventing her from seeing her boyfriend. "They are trying to separate me and Ron! I am going in," proclaiming that she headed towards the Middleton Institute.

* * *

"Give up Drakken!" with these words the door to Mr. Diego Sivil's office shattered due to the force of Kim Possible's kick.

The sponsor of the school slowly rotated in his chair with the motion he got so used to with Ron, this time however he was facing his furious girlfriend.

"Its time to end this farce! What have you done to Ron?" The Possible girl was unusually angry.

Mr. Diego smirked from his beard and snapped his fingers. Instantly the secret doors opened in the walls and the floor, releasing a lot of people. Kim was immediately surrounded. Meanwhile Mr. Diego Sivil stood up and pulled on his beard, which tore off with a nasty sound, revealing the face Kim knew all too well.

"Shego..." exhaled Kim with amazement. "I knew I've seen that face before! But you, posing as a man threw me off."

"That's the idea, my dear." replied the green beauty with a smug smile, while ripping the rest of the fake costume off. "You can't imagine for how long I wanted to do this."

"And now we have you captured." Shego waved her hand in the direction of the henchman crowd. "We have Dr. Drakken," A blue skinned guy with disfigured face waved back and made a mock bow. "Prof. Dementor," The short man wearing a helmet stepped out with his hands crossed on his chest and evil grin frozen on his face. "Duff Killigan," accompanied by the bagpipe music, the kilt-wearing villain imitated the winning strike. "Senior Senior Senior with his son" The duo walked from the shadow to the light. "And virtually everyone on this campus, as they all are the legion of our united henchmen. From this situation even you can't escape, and now there is no 'distraction' or someone to save you." The nearest henchman quickly crushed the kimmunicator at those words, leaving the girl with no chance for external help.

Circling around the redhead, six villains finished together: "Now Kim Possible, you will pay."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's notes:** It took me five hours to write seven pages worth of material. I had to finish it today, because I will not be able to write anymore. I let myself go a bit to the grim side in this chapter. Please enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing.

**Disclaimer:** all the characters belong to Disney, no commercial usage intended. The name of the university is used purely as a pun and not as an advertisement.

**Thanks to: **CajunBear73

**Possibilities: Self-esteem**

Ron stared at the ceiling. No thought crossed his mind, it was blank. He lay there for what felt like days. He knew that his mother and father did come to visit him on several occasions. They were talking with their son, but their words could not reach Ron. He just was there, and wasn't anywhere at the same time. His spirit being completely broken could no longer support his body. The boy was not in such a state when he just got back from university, but he kept thinking about his situation over and over, putting himself deeper into depression each time. However it was not an unpleasant state as well. It felt like a bliss to not think, not dwell anymore. With no emotions present, feelings of uneasiness and guilt disappeared as well. There was something happening around, but it wouldn't disturb Ron anymore.

Sharp feeling of pain quickly pulled the boy back to reality. Angry at whatever disturbed him, Ron took a quick look around only to find that the source of pain was his friend Rufus. Naked mole rat sank his teeth deeply into the flash of the boy's palm while viciously growling. Noticing, that Ron came to his senses, Rufus quickly climbed on his chest and started shaking his friend by the shirt's collar.

"Rufus, whats wrong with you!" Ron tightly grabbed the little guy and closed his face in, staring with anger. In a moment he felt teeth closing in on his nose and received another bite mark, releasing the grip. Rufus jumped to the ronnunicator that was on the table besides the bed and started hitting the buttons, finally getting the boy's attention to the right thing.

It appeared that Ron missed quite a few calls from Wade, as the genius had to leave a message. "Ron, I do not know, what is going on with you, I've been trying to reach you for a day now. As soon as you get the message – move out to the MIT. I traced its funding and all of it came from the villains you and Kim defeated before. Kim went there to find out what was going on, but I lost contact with her. Here are the last seconds of what kimmunicator recorded."

Ron witnessed how Mr. Diego Sivil turned into Shego and saw all of the enemies being introduced. After that the kimmunicator was crushed and video ended.

Wade continued: "I sent my best stealth spy robot there, but it was destroyed by laser guns before it could pick up anything at all. Now I am planning to..." Suddenly the image started shaking and part of the ceiling in Wade's room fell down. Mechanical manipulators moved in searching for the prey. Panicking genius turned to camera and started talking really fast "Ron they are onto me, most likely they will take me to the same place Kim is at. I have a GPS on me, your device can track it, Rufus should know how to use it. Ron... ahhhh!" Wade couldn't finish the sentence as the manipulators finally closed in and immediately snatched him away. The message was three hours old. All this time Rufus was trying to get his friends attention, until finally becoming desperate enough to bite as the night was closing in.

The situation was so critical, that Ron didn't waste a single second. He rushed down the stairs, grabbed his helmet and was off on his scooter, remade by Kim's dad as a present, from start setting it on full power. Miniature Kepler engines moved out of its body and propelled the device at sonic speed, making it hard to even sit on it. Ron was quickly closing in on the GPS signal, it was coming from Middleton Institute of Technology.

* * *

The sextet of villains was having a heated argument.

"I say we through them to the crocodiles!" Dr. Drakken raised his voice.

"No way!" Shego shuddered remembering her encounter with those things at Senior Senior Senior's lair. "And no sharks too," she continued, as the memories from the encounter with Zorpox were not the most pleasant ones as well.

"Gentlemen, we should not forget, that we must give her a chance to escape. That is the villain tradition." Senior Senior was as always courteous.

Rest of the group leered at him.

"Father, she has tried to escape six times already! I think it is more than enough chances we have given her."

"Seven," commented Shego, as she looked at yet again empty cage.

Several minutes later henchmen brought in the unconscious bodies of Kim Possible and Wade and threw them back into the cage.

Meanwhile the discussion continued. Prof. Dementor suggested strapping the prisoners to the rocket and sending them to blow up on high altitude. Others disagreed, that it wasn't evil enough, while certainly efficient. The argument kept going until the alarm suddenly went off and red lights started blinking.

"Something is approaching the first line of defense at super high speed. Bringing it to the screen." Dr. Drakken pressed a few buttons and a blurry image appeared on the main screen. As it became sharper, the villains stared at it with amazement and then averted their angry gazes to Drakken.

"Didn't you say, that your 'oh so perfect' plan would make sure the sidekick never shows his face again?" Shego was clenching her fists in a mix of anger and fear.

"And where did he get that rocket? You told us, that as soon as we get the genius, there will be no help from outside at all?" This time it was Duff Killigan, more annoyed than angry at another miscalculation in the Dr. D's plans.

"It is a scooter, not a rocket," noticed Prof. Dementor.

"Father I want one!"

"Yet another fail, how many will you have to experience before you get your own incompetence!"

Archvillains started yelling at each other, ruining even the small amount of cooperation that were able to build up till now.

"WILL YOU EFFING SHUT UP!" everyone froze, staring incredulously at the sudden explosion from usually pushy Drew. "This is the buffoon we are talking about! Shego, you saw yourself, that he is broken. We conditioned him with this thought for half a year. He can't do anything!" He turned to other villains. "This base has seven layers of protection. We put best of our minds and inventions in creating this masterpiece. Our archnemesis, Kim Possible, was not able to go anywhere past the fourth one when escaping, even though the defense is meant to keep people out, not in. We have over ten thousand henchmen in this lair, ranging from Duff's golfers to Senior Senior's analysts and strategists. The bunker we are currently in is deep below the surface and can withstand a nuclear strike. In total we spent two months planning and six more finding holes in security and plugging them. This fortress is impregnable. Nothing, you hear me? Nothing can make my plan fail this time!" Finally out of breath, Dr. Drakken inhaled deeply and started giving out commands to the base operators. Rest of the group stood there in silence, seeing seriously pissed off blue-skinned genius for the first time. "Why do you still stand there? Go to your battle positions, as we discussed them earlier." To their own surprise, villains followed the command, while quietly muttering curses. However not a single one dared to raise their voice, even Shego. The lair was readying to defend itself.

* * *

Ron saw the MIT from afar. Its activated defense systems changed the look quite a lot. Ron could tell that just by looking at what used to be parking lots. Where used to be neat and logically organized car spaces now towered a mass of lasers and guns, chaotic at the first sight, but actually set so that they wouldn't be on each others line of fire. This impressive belt surrounding the school was the first line of defense, being able to wipe off the ground a small army. And behind them towered a large wall, completely sealing off the view of anything that was inside. Occasionally blue sparks erupted from the wall's surface, indicating that it was under high voltage.

The boy had no intention of sneaking in silently, trying to dodge the sensors. Instead he sent the scooter engine into overdrive and initiated the emergency ejection sequence. In a second he was shot high in the air, opening his wingsuit at the highest point. At the same time the Kepler powered scooter was approaching the laser gun belt at the speed ten times greater than the speed of sound. The speed was too high for the lasers to catch and shoot down the target. However even without external damage the construction was starting to fall apart from the force of air resistance, despite the fact that it was made from rocket parts. It barely held till the moment of impact, however still serving its purpose. The experimental railgun projectile weighs seven pounds and can deliver damage exceeding that of a Tomahawk missile. Ron's scooter weighed much, much more. Propelled at such a high speed it created a tremendous blast wave, instantly vaporizing every weapon in a hundred meter radius and blasting away or rendering useless others on this side of campus. Ron however utilized the blast wave to his advantage, using it to glide over the wall, which was the second line of defense.

* * *

"Perimeter breached!"

"First line, north sector, annihilated!"

"First line, west sector, 10% operational!"

"First line, east sector, 25% operational!"

"Second line, heavy impact detected, extensive damage, structure unstable!"

Voices were echoing in the command center, as the on-screen Ron glided over the wall. In a second image changed to another angle, as the spy-bot was destroyed by a blast wave.

Blue face got distorted with anger and hands in black gloves clenched so hard, that blood started dripping from them.

"So, Dr. D, your favorite lasers didn't work. Again." Shego facepalmed. "And that wall? It did cost a lot, but had no use at all, look he just flies over it. Just like they ALWAYS do."

"It did prevent the damage to the campus itself, shielding most of the explosive power," replied insulted Duff Killigan. After all it was his idea to build this wall. It was supposed to shock whoever tried to climb over it.

"It is my turn now, he will not pass through my... I mean our henchmen." Prof. Dementor smiled. "I had the best henchmen and Shego knew how to fight. We changed everyone's bodies and trained them to a completely different level. Now they are well-versed in both the psychological and the physical warfare. Let the show begin!"

* * *

As soon as Ron landed, hundreds of henchmen rushed towards him. With fear and amazement he saw the faces of students and teachers he met during the half of a year he spent in college. Those were same faces, but different bodies – everyone was muscular, but moved with amazing agility and speed. In seconds they covered the distance to the boy, barely giving him any time to prepare. Instead of attacking one by one, or getting in each others way, as they used to do, those henchmen executed excellent teamwork. Ron had to give it his all, remembering everything he ever learned during his missions with Kim and training in Yamanuchi school, just to barely avoid or block all of the hits that were aimed at him. The henchmen that fought him often traded places with the ones standing aside, changing the styles of attack and not letting the boy to get used to the rhythm of the onslaught. Those who stood aside also didn't spend time doing nothing. They were performing psychological attacks, by yelling things, that made Ron loose his spirit before. They reminded him of how he failed his team, of his low class, of his failed studies and how he was the first person to be expelled from the new university. Constant barrage of attacks on all levels started to get to Ron, he missed a few blows and was starting to give in. To increase the effect, the large screens on buildings lit up, showing the commanding center, where all of the villains gathered, and where the cage with Kim and Wade was. Ron could not throw a single glance towards the screens, completely focused on the fight. He had to concentrate so much, that he even ignored the sounds coming from dynamics. Dr. Drakken didn't like it. He ordered for Kim Possible to be pulled out of the cage. Shego gladly obeyed, pulling the girl out by hair, making her yelp with pain. That single sound tipped the scales for Ron, as that was the only one he could never ignore. He lost his balance and was instantly captured by his former roommate, the Russian guy.

"Kim..." gasped the boy in horror, looking at his girlfriend on the screen.

Kim Possible attempted to escape seven times. And failed seven times. The defense systems didn't kill her, but they did not limit their force capturing her as well. Teen hero was thrashed and tattered. Her body was covered in bruises, burns and scratches, left eye swollen so much she couldn't be open it. Her mission clothes were ripped to shreds, barely covering the girl. Kim looked like she barely held to her consciousness, a small stream of blood flowing down her face from under her hair, indicating she recently took a blow to the head.

"Kim," repeated Ron as tears started streaming down his cheeks. "Kim I am so sorry! If only I didn't shut myself in... If I went with you... this wouldn't have happened! I am so sorry, this all is my fault!"

Supervillains on the screen started smiling with delight, seeing that finally their common foes were both reduced to such a state. At last, after many tries their plans were working as intended.

"You know, this sight is almost worth the trouble of working with you lot," admitted Prof. Dementor to the rest of the vile group. Others nodded in agreement.

"Please, let Kim go, I will do anything you want. Absolutely anything... Just, please..." begged Ron, his face covered with expression of such pain and guilt, that even the villains were taken aback a little, trading some unsure gazes amongst themselves. Everyone, but Dr. Drakken.

"Dr. D, I guess we could do that. Then while we have him, Kim Possible would never dare to do anything to us. Plus there is no fun in defeating her like this," said Shego as she put a hand on Drakken's shoulder. Deep inside, even though she didn't want to admit it, she knew that she enjoyed fighting Kim Possible. That could end now in a boring way, or could provide her with entertainment for a long time, if Ron Stoppable was captured. Others did not share similar thoughts, but for some reason still felt uneasy. Everyone, but Dr. Drakken.

His plans were always so close to the succession, but every single time they were thwarted by the heroes. And here it was, his most epic, absolutely perfect creation. The one he poured soul in designing and making. The one envisioned with the sole purpose of capturing and destroying Kim Possible in a most efficient manner. The one that now was close to failing again because of his own allies and their emotions. Because of this random "Ron Factor". He just couldn't let it happen. This feeling, the anger at the time he had to spend in jail, the sorrow about wasted time and resources, the desire to rule the world, all the despair and pain he shut off for so long – all melded together in a single sinister emotion, overwhelming him, breaking apart his personality and creating anew. Deep within evil blue genius's eyes a change was occurring. His natural goofiness and naivety that made him a constantly failing, but charismatic villain were disappearing. And their place was being taken by the malicious, maniacal gleam. His evil grin changed slightly, now looking more like a grin of the ferocious beast.

"You know, I think, I have a better idea." Dr. Drakken snapped his fingers and seven tubes of thick plexiglass fell down from the ceiling. Wade, Kim, Duff, Dementor, Shego and both Seniors were now jailed in transparent prisons. "I think, I will let young Stoppable watch you all die. Then I will capture him, and let him watch how I take over the world. All while knowing it was him, who made it possible. And about how I will kill you? I will flood the tubes with water, slowly drowning you. However for fun, or as Senior Senior would say 'for traditions' I will give you a chance." Now completely evil scientist looked down on Ron from the screen. "Those tubes will be full in 10 minutes, anything more would be boring, and less would be not as entertaining. You could try to save them. Of course you can't and that makes it all the more fun," said Drakken and burst out in a raspy, croaking laughter.

Ron looked at the screen, where villains were struggling and failing to get out, but saw only his beloved. Kim's lips moved, as she whispered something with a voice too weak to get through, and she lost consciousness, leaning heavily against the glass walls. The boy couldn't hear the words, but he knew what she said. His head fell on his chest.

"I love you, Ron Stoppable," echoed in his mind. He was with Kim since preschool. Despite them being so different, they never separated for long. "I love you." She loved him, no matter how he behaved, no matter how he failed. He was such an idiot. And now, because of his selfishness, she is going to die. "I love you."

Strange humming noise filled the air, rapidly increasing in intensity until it became so unbearable, that Drakken had to reduce the volume. In the dark of night cameras spotted a projectile leaving a bright trail appearing in the sky. Moments later something hit the ground in front of Ron Stoppable with tremendous force, sending shock waves through the ground strong enough to make everyone nearby, except the boy, fall. Dr Drakken cursed, as the cloud of dust from the impact blocked the cameras. To his joy it got dispersed enormously quick. What he saw next made him raise a brow in disbelief. The projectile that hit the ground was some kind of the sword. And it was glowing with blue light by itself. What was even more strange to him, was the fact that similar glow was starting to form around the Stoppable boy, with the only difference being the color. Glowing bright red, he stood there for a moment before reaching for the blade. Sparks started flying between his hand and the blade, becoming more intense as he closed in on the blade handle. As the boy raised the blade it started to change into countless forms with amazing speed. Arcs of electricity were hitting the ground from the place, where the hand touched the blade, but Ron did not even flinch from pain, his head still lowered he put a second hand on the handle. The sword started crumbling, within mere seconds the rate increased from a small specks of glowing dust to a constant stream flowing towards and being absorbed by the red aura. This was enchanting, but at the same time somehow terrifying spectacle. Dr. Drakken could have sworn, that the shape surrounding the boy vaguely looked like a monkey. Angry at his own nervousness he yelled through dynamics: "Henchmen, get up and get the boy. Those were just special effects, so do what you are being paid for!"

At his words people, who were down due to the sword falling and who remained on the ground in awe of what was going on, finally started gathering themselves. The glow around the boy started fading as well, reassuring them that their boss was right. The glow completely disappeared and the boy was surrounded again. Ron Stoppable finally raised his head and looked directly at the camera. The next moment camera went offline. Evil genius made a few wobbly steps back and fell into the chair, struck by the last image camera transmitted. In a few short breaths he regained composure, and rage began boiling inside his evil mind. That he, Dr. Drakken, the one, who captured all of his competitors and the teen heroes, would be afraid of some little boy's glance! This matter could not be left unattended, he shall resolve everything himself. He will show the world, who will be its leader.

"Contact our troops and order them..."

Drakken was interrupted by the operator's shaking voice: "Third line, all sectors, no response."

Before the evil scientist could ask any questions, another report followed: "Fourth line, all robots offline." Operator gulped, and continued: "Fifth line, all traps destroyed. He is coming here, boss." Panic started spreading through the room.

"I-impossible, this is not humanly possible!" on the last word Drakken's voice broke on yelp. "Unseal project 'Nemesis', I will use it. Stall this monster while I fire it up," he yelled running towards a secret door.

Blue evilman knew, that this project was his last hope of winning. Project that he created a very long time ago, before he met Shego, was meant to provide him with muscle to fulfill his evil plans. He tested it only once, and sealed it forever after that, swearing not to unleash it ever again, for his own sake. Though, he always did find it amusing, how he never used the most powerful weapon ever created. He remembered that Tuesday all too well. Drakken shuddered at the memories as he arrived to a room containing a small safe, now open. The only thing inside was a neatly folded dark blue suit, waves slowly traveling across its surface.

* * *

Ron was rushing forward at a great speed. The time was running out, as he had to spend too much of it taking out every henchmen, without destroying them, like he did with robots. And now he had to hurry. Even though there were good five minutes before the tubes will be filled, he didn't know if Kim slid lower due to being unconscious, so the boy pushed himself even more. He had a hard time getting through the sixth line of defense, as it was a changing maze, but due to the MMP he was able to force himself through. As he approached the large bunker doors, he started feeling, that the new way of using the power is taking a heavier toll on him than he thought. Instead of emitting the aura, he took it in, strengthening the body from inside, rather than outside. The downside to this was the fact, that his body was not used to containing such powers and was slowly breaking.

Casting thoughts aside as meaningless at this point, Stoppable gathered a charge in his hands and slammed the door with a concentrated ki strike. Door bent in, but stood. Ron stood there for a moment in amazement, then gathered even more power and repeated the strike, this time sending the door flying across the command center.

People inside: operators, analysts and other non-combat personal, who just witnessed a three feet thick reinforced steel door being destroyed in two strikes, didn't even think about "stall him" order. They raised their hands and prayed to stay unnoticed.

Their prayers were heard, as Ron didn't look at them even once, rushing to the filling tubes. He was there barely in time, as water was reaching Kim's nose. Just as he suspected, she slid down, so it was a wise decision to push himself to the limits. With a single chopping motion he cut the tube open and pulled his girlfriend out. After making sure she was safe, he proceeded to cutting open Wade's tube as well.

"Ron, you can't believe, how happy I am to see you!" Wade was completely drenched as he had to swim in the tube due to his low height.

"Get us out as well!" yelled the villain quintet almost in unison.

Ron faced them and his eyes narrowed. "You made Kim into this state," evil group gulped and tried to move away from angry Ron as far as it was possible within their tubes. "I do not have a single speck of interest in helping you. I will close the water off, but you will stay here till the officials come. And if you ever dare to break out of jail..." The boy didn't finish, but everyone had already witnessed, what he was capable of. At that point they would rather spend all their lives in jail, than meet Ron Stoppable face to face.

* * *

Drew Lipsky reached for the costume and hesitantly touched it. In a split second, as if it was liquid, the costume flowed onto him, nanomachines tightly gripping his skin. The costume he made so long ago, was once again united with its master. It held enough power to vaporize the mountain, but at the same time it was trying to completely merge with its owner, constantly changing his body. "Lets see who is stronger now, Ron Stoppable," uttered the man through the clenched teeth.

* * *

Ron shut down the water and looked at the henchmen remaining in the room. "Call the ambulance and the officials. After that you can quickly get out of here, before I change my mind."

The boy turned back to his girlfriend right in time to see her opening eyes. He rushed to Kim's side. "Hey, KP, how do you feel? Kim, answer me!"

"Ron..." called Kim with a weak voice.

"What, Kimmie?"

"Behind... you..."

Ron spun on the spot only to see Dr. Drakken slowly walking through the secret door.

"Drakken!" anger and hatred were seeping through Ron's voice. "You will pay, for what you have done to Kim!"

"My name is Drew Theodore P. Lipsky. Dr. Drakken is a name of a looser I took upon myself afraid of what I did as a Lipsky. You see, the suit I am wearing is not my usual one. I designed my usual attire as a way to remember about this one, about how I exploded my own house and my father while trying to take it off." A hint of sadness sparked in his eyes, quickly disappearing soon after. "Funny story isn't it, the creation rebelling against its creator. You have seen this happen to me quite a lot, haven't you?" Drew let out a sarcastic laughter. "Officials thought it was a gas explosion, but it was just a single burst of energy from this suite of mine. You see, this thing melds with my body, and doesn't want to get off, as it is a first and only artificial symbiont. I am its life, and it is my power. And now I will use this power to kill you, kids, and then go take over the world." After those words crazy doctor charged at Ron. The very same moment Ron charged at former genius, now simply mad scientist.

It was a strange fight to witness. Blows strong enough to shatter safe doors and crack open the earth were missing their targets by a hair's breadth. Creating loud booming sounds as they released the energy after the miss. Both fighters were exploiting their all in order to win, experience and intuition versus extremely enhanced speed and reflexes on the other. Fluid Ron's Monkey Kungfu motions versus sharp and mechanical barrages of Drew Lipsky's costume. Magic and technology clashed in a battle surpassing the human limits. Involuntary witnesses watched as the speed of the blow exchange kept increasing, soon it was too fast to not only follow but even understand what was going on. The booming sounds now created an effect as if a machine gun was endlessly shooting. And at the same time the pair of fighters barely moved from the same spot, utilizing only the minimal amount of movement necessary to avoid receiving damage.

Ron felt, that blood is rushing from his nose and ears. He knew that his body was reaching its limits. However he could also see, that using costume takes a great toll on former Drakken as well. The evil madman's face got almost as blue as his costume was, his eyes sinking deeper into his face from strain. This was not the battle of power or skill, but the battle of endurance and determination.

Suddenly Ron's vision blurred and turned pinkish. The boy immediately understood, that he started bleeding from eyes. In a split moment he decided to close them and rely on the rest of his senses and Mystical Monkey Power to guide him. This had won him another few minutes, but he felt, that he is giving in. His consciousness started fading. The last thought he had before loosing it was: "Kim".

The fight stopped. With the wet and slippery sound Drew Lipsky's hand slipped out of Ron's stomach, falling along his body. Without a sound naked and dark blue former evil genius fell flat on his back, his nano-suit blown onto the wall behind.

* * *

Ron found himself somewhere in the dark. The last thing he remembered was him loosing consciousness in a fight. "Kim!" He tried to move, but found nothing to move. He wanted to ask: "Did I die?" but had nothing to ask with. It was as if only his mind was present.

"That is correct, Stoppable-san," told him the familiar voice.

"Master Sensei?"

"Yes Stoppable-san, that is me. You are not dead, but simply unconscious. After all you used a very dangerous technique."

"Sensei, but why was I able to use it? I couldn't use MMP at all before. And why didn't you tell me about a way to use MMP better before?"  
"Stoppable-san, it was important for you to learn not to rely onto the magic powers. Mystical Monkey Power comes to you only if you truly need it. You shall have courage to fight even without it. It came to you as soon as you made your resolve to fight without regard for your life. As for the technique itself... So far you have been using only the Yang, or the white energy. But Yang is only a part of the whole, today you embraced the second part of the circle – the Yin, or the dark energy. However one's body can't hold both at the same time, as there are no truly balanced people. Over the time one of the energies increases in the amount, and if one still holds them both, he will die. That was the reason the last person who wielded both, Toshimiru, created the Lotus Blade, as a means of keeping the Yin under control. By withstanding its power, you are now wielding them both as well, and only time will show how it turns out.

"Huh?"

"Stoppable-san, you didn't get a single thing, did you?"

"Absolutely nothing. And I was asking why didn't you tell me, that I can put MMP inside my body?"

"Ah that... To tell the truth, Stoppable-san, I had no idea myself." Sensei chuckled. "It is a mysterious power and little is known about it. You will have to search for its uses on your own."

"Uh... okay." Ron automatically tried to scratch his head and suddenly felt something.

"Stoppable-san, it looks like it is time for you to wake up. After all, there is someone who is waiting for you," said Sensei as he winked with the smile.

After Ron's consciousness returned to the real world, Master Sensei's figure started to appear. "Looks like it will be indeed a very amusing fellow to watch." He uttered, smiling to his thoughts. Then turned and started walking into the dark, becoming taller and broader in shoulders with each step. Lotus Blade appeared on his hip, and the set of samurai armor enveloped him, the last piece to appear being an ancient samurai helmet. Then he completely disappeared in darkness leaving behind only a light chuckle.

* * *

Ron found himself somewhere in the dark. Then he decided to open his eyes. For a moment he saw a hospital ceiling, the image being instantly replaced with happy Kim's face.

"RON! You are awake!" Kim kissed her boyfriend. And again. And a third time. She gasped for breath and cried: "Everyone, Ron is awake!"

The room immediately filled with people, families and friends, who were waiting outside, all rushed in.

Chatter filled the air, and Ron thought to himself, that now he is at last content.


End file.
